Heaven is an equal-opportunity destination, but to gain entry one needs a "passport" stamped with virtues such as humility, mercy and truth, says Benedict XVI.
Last Wednesday, I talked about St Basil, a Father of the Church and a great teacher of the faith. Today, I would like to speak of his friend, Gregory Nazianzus; like Basil, he too was a native of Cappadocia. As a distinguished theologian, orator and champion of the Christian faith in the 4th century, he was famous for his eloquence, and as a poet, he also had a refined and sensitive soul.
Whore Air...
A senior Vatican cardinal will inaugurate a low-cost charter flight service which aims to transport Catholic pilgrims to holy sites.
Leading conservative politicians rejected a center-left call for a new drive to ban Germany's far-right National Democratic Party, pointing to the possible pitfalls of reviving an effort that failed 4 years ago. Edmund Stoiber said that he was "strictly against having the debate again." The court "set such high hurdles that there is no point in calling for this anew." If the government tried to ban the party again, "the state would have to pull out all informers. That means that we would, in the end, shut ourselves off from all information, and I think that is irresponsible."
The start of Chancellor Merkel's 3-day visit to China today was overshadowed by news reports that Beijing hacked into German government computers. Merkel's hosts said they would investigate.
As the EU returns to work after the summer break, one of the most pressing issues on the agenda is the new treaty for the EU, which the Portuguese presidency wants to have done and dusted within the next 8 weeks.
Gordon Brown's chances of ending a Labour revolt over the new EU reform treaty have been snuffed out after leading Euro-MPs made clear they would give no further concessions to Britain. The Prime Minister is facing a mounting rebellion by his own backbenchers who are demanding a referendum on the treaty unless Mr Brown can extract fresh amendments at the 11th hour. But representatives of the European Parliament who are directly involved in the last stage of negotiations insisted that Britain had already caused the EU enough problems by winning a series of "unacceptable" opt-outs.
Turkey's Foreign Minister voiced support for a possible cross-border operation by neighboring Iran into Iraq to fight a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party there, saying countries have the right to defend their borders. "They pose a threat to Turkey as well as to other neighbors. Therefore, every country has the right to defend its borders and take legitimate measures for its own security."
The head of the IAEA says Iran and other Middle Eastern countries are "unlikely" to seek to develop nuclear weapons.
(MSNBC: UN nuke chief blasts US arms sales)
Iran has accused the US of trying to derail its talks with the UN nuclear watchdog that aim to defuse a row over Tehran's atomic plans. "There was nothing else to be expected from America other than this (response) ... The trend (of talks) between Iran and the agency was successful, other countries welcomed it as well. Americans are making efforts to harm this trend."
We have reached a critical juncture in the debate over the war. Just when it seemed that the neocons would get away with their echo chamber tactic of talking up the "success" of the "surge", the War Party was hit with 3 major blows that have them reeling.
Much ink has been spilled over the supposed implications of having 5 Catholic justices sitting simultaneously on the US Supreme Court. But beyond speculation about what results this development may produce in specific cases such as abortion, there has been little discussion of what a uniquely Catholic understanding of American law actually means and how it may apply in the various substantive areas of law.
Wheat prices have hit record highs on global commodity markets, bringing the threat of rising bread prices. Bad weather in key grain growing areas such as Canada and parts of Europe has limited supplies as demand has risen, sparking fears of a supply shortfall. Surging prices are also expected to have widespread fallout for consumers. While it will mean higher bread prices, it could also trigger an increase in meat and dairy prices as farmers battle to pass on rising feed costs. Global wheat stockpiles will slip to their lowest levels in 26 years as a result.
Currency markets generally punish heavily indebted nations by pushing down their currency. In the absence of policies to boost domestic savings - and thereby slow the build up of debt - a steady decline of the dollar implies a steady decline in American living standards. A sharply accelerating decline would imply severe economic distress.
Bad credit has supplanted terrorism as the gravest immediate risk threatening the US economy, a prominent research group reported today.
Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned that the US may be heading into recession as the biggest victim to date of the sub-prime mortgage debacle was humiliatingly sold for a token sum in Germany. "It would be far too premature to judge this crisis over. I would say the risks of recession are now greater than they've been any time since the period in the aftermath of 9/11."
This crisis has not fundamentally been about equity market valuations. The proximate cause of this crisis has been difficulties in the US sub-prime mortgage market. But although the story started there it didn't have to.
Economists, other than Murray Rothbard's disciples, never associate the concept of theft with monetary inflation. They speak of theft in terms of reduced inefficiency and increased transactions costs, not morality. When it comes to avoiding morality, they are worse than lawyers. Once you appeal to morality, academic economic theory collapses. Economics was the first science to be self-consciously designed to avoid moral questions.
The Earth's shadow will creep across the moon's surface early Tuesday, slowly eclipsing it and turning it to shades of orange and red.
(NASA: Graphic)
(S&S: Eclipse animation)
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